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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

‘Hangover II’ same story, different movie

In the Hangover Part II, Bangkok is depicted as a bustling Asian city with hundreds of people, many of whom can’t be trusted, seedy nightclubs, blown up bars, dingy hotels and peaceful monasteries. If you are in need of more facts on Thailand, Alan (Zach Galifianakis) will fill you in throughout the film with his Thailand factoid cards that came in handy during his informative speech to Stu (Ed Helms) at his pre-wedding dinner. He had to stop once he brought up Stu’s former marriage to a prostitute in Vegas, but who could forget that wild night? It seems Alan hasn’t left Vegas, but this wedding in Thailand provides the perfect opportunity for Alan and his friends to re-live that night.

Director Todd Phillips takes advantage of Bangkok’s mystical foreignness as the ideal place to put the wolf pack in another morning-after mystery solving adventure. Phillips employs the same technique of showing the wolf pack members as lost boys in a town where many people go to do just that: get lost. Just as we say, “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” the same can be said for Bangkok with even more fervor.

Despite the dramatic change in locale, there are many of the same elements that brought the first Hangover’s success. It seems that writers, Phillips, Craig Mazon, and Scot Armstrong knew what worked and didn’t bother to change the formula. They came to the conclusion that once something works it doesn’t need to be altered.

The film fails in satisfying the audience’s high expectations for a sequel by using the same plot structure. Take for instance the very first scene of the film: Phil (Bradley Cooper) calls Tracy, Doug’s wife, to tell her something terrible has happened, sound familiar? If I went on to explain other scenes you’d think I was describing the first movie, but the sequel is just that similar to the first.

Stu (Ed Helms) is getting married this time around to his Thai-American fiancée, Lauren (Jamie Chung). The wedding is taking place in Thailand by the insistence of Lauren’s parents. Stu flies with the wolf pack over to Thailand with an additional member, Teddy (Mason Lee), Lauren’s younger pre-med and cello-master brother. Phil, as handsome and crass as ever, Doug (Justin Bartha) the former rooftop victim, and Alan (Zach Galifinakas) the craziest and most loveable, all return. What happens after a round of what appears to be seemingly harmless beer and marshmallows at a bonfire turns into a wild and crazy night that Phil, Stu and Alan need to piece back together in order to find Teddy.

There are pleasant new surprises like the little drug mulling monkey, Stu’s latest encounter with a prostitute who is not the who she appears to be, a silent monk, a cut off finger, mobster Russians, and a shady businessman played by Paul Giamatti. Familiar faces like Chow (Ken Jeong) return, even crazier than before.

Hangover Part II is a funny movie; yet, it could’ve been funnier if it wasn’t for that fact that it took the exact same plot line as its predecessor. Knowing what comes next in a movie takes a lot of the fun and humor out of it. The element of surprise of lost. The film’s saving grace is the amazing ensemble cast that we know and love. Too bad Phillips couldn’t have given a more original plot and dialogue so the wolf pack could’ve raised hell in Bangkok without constantly bringing remnants of Vegas in.

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